Brand New Owner of a Used '08 Signature Series 27FB!

[KerriO]

After years of dreaming about it, we finally purchased our CCD (Signature Series) International! Our first airstream.

It's a used unit that's at a dealer that's about a nine hour drive from here. We drove down last weekend to inspect and purchase, and the dealer is storing it on the lot to complete a list of repairs we requested, and also because we're arranging a time for my father, who is a life-long RV'er, to come down with us, and make the trip back up with us, so we can learn the ropes with him the first time.

I have a couple of random question regarding what we found in the Airstream.

Manuals: After searching through all of the cabinets, we finally found documentation. A blue vinyl folder with the Airstream logo that had some generic-to-all-rv's safety booklets. There was also a folder that contained multiple manuals for individual parts and appliances (e.g. the stove, the propane tanks, etc).
Is that all that there should be? Or should we have some "master" manual? I was somehow expecting a single big book all about the airstream. I just want to know if we'll need to get the dealer to order this for us (if it exists).

Mattress: We are definitely switching out the mattress that is currently in the trailer. It is just not up to snuff, and as we'll be full-timing and my husband has serious back problems, it's important that we have a decent mattress. I'm just curious about the matterss that's in there— I suspect that it isn't the original.
- It has standard corners on all sides. When I look at photos of new 27FB units, it looks like the two corners facing the door have extra-rounded corners. Do yours?
- The mattress extended out several inches over the bedframe. The sales guy told us they were all like that. Is that true? Does your factory mattress (on a 27FB) fit the bedframe or extend past it? We forgot to check out the mattress fit when we looked at newer models.

Why I'm asking is that I'm wondering if we can get away with using a standard queen-sized mattress in there, even though it's five inches too long. If the mattress that's already in there is actually a "short" mattress, and it already extends so far out, then I think a standard queen would be too much. But if it just extends out 5" (like the one that's already in there), then it would work. We could just bring in the mattress from our bedroom, since we won't be using it while fulltiming.

[blmitch5]

Congradulations on your new 27' FB!

Manuals: After searching through all of the cabinets, we finally found documentation. A blue vinyl folder with the Airstream logo that had some generic-to-all-rv's safety booklets. There was also a folder that contained multiple manuals for individual parts and appliances (e.g. the stove, the propane tanks, etc).
Is that all that there should be? Or should we have some "master" manual? I was somehow expecting a single big book all about the airstream. I just want to know if we'll need to get the dealer to order this for us (if it exists).

Belive it or not but thats all there is! Be glad you have the forums to answer all you r questions!

Mattress: We are definitely switching out the mattress that is currently in the trailer. It is just not up to snuff, and as we'll be full-timing and my husband has serious back problems, it's important that we have a decent mattress. I'm just curious about the matterss that's in there— I suspect that it isn't the original.
- It has standard corners on all sides. When I look at photos of new 27FB units, it looks like the two corners facing the door have extra-rounded corners. Do yours?
- The mattress extended out several inches over the bedframe. The sales guy told us they were all like that. Is that true? Does your factory mattress (on a 27FB) fit the bedframe or extend past it? We forgot to check out the mattress fit when we looked at newer models.

There are several options for you but a standard might be too long. You could build an extension on but maybe you would be better off (since fulltiming) with a better mattres that stays in the AS. Here are a few links.

RV Air Mattress
RV Memory Foam Mattress | RV Memory Foam Mattresses | RV Mattress | BedInABox.com - RV Center
Home RV 6-inch Reversible RV Short Queen-size Foam Mattress | Overstock.com
Explorer Premium Euro Top RV Mattress - Excel Distributors

I hope that helps!

[ASwifey]

If it's the one we looked at a few weeks ago in Irvine, it did have a replacement mattress on it that was a full size. The trailer would have had a short queen mattress that I believe would have been blue at the time it was new. The short queen will make more room to get around the bed in the bedroom. My husband is 6'3" and does fine with the short queen.

We love the 12 inch memory foam mattresses they sell at Costco. Trimms right up with an electric steak knife. ( I also have a bad back, and a bad mattress will make me miserable)

Congrats, hope you have a wonderful time with it. It's a great floorplan.

Maybe we'll see you out and about!

[KerriO]

blmitch5, oh good! Thanks for the info. Though I'm a bit disappointed I don't get a big, leatherbound keepsake Airstream bible.

Thanks ASwifey. That was the one!*
So it *was* a full-size mattress. Good to know. I can actually deal with the extra length of the mattress that was there, but if it were another 5" beyond that, it would be too much. Since we already have a very good full-size queen that we can use, we'll probably just end up switching that out.

* Curious: were you looking to buy it? If so, what were your main reasons not to? There was definitely more wrong with it than we were expecting before we drove down (lots of missing, broken things, oxidation, etc., and generally just feeling very 'used' for one that's only 3 years old), but used airstreams within the models we're specifically looking for (Signature Series 27FB or 28) are so few and far between, we decided to go ahead and go for it. And it sounds like the filiform oxidation is such a common issue, that our chances of running into it are pretty big anyway. But I'm really worried we made a naive decision. I figure anything can be fixed though, and we did negotiate down a bit.

[ASwifey]

We had actually went there to look at a 30 foot model. But when we go to a dealer we always look in every trailer there just to see what's new.

Our last trailer was a 25 FB CCD ( that's it in my avatar). Loved it, but it was a little too small for us. Like I said the 27 FB is a great floor plan, but we are actually wanting a 30 footer now. Check out some of the pictures of what we did to the interior in my older postings. We had some fun with it, and made it more comfy too.

Hopefully they will fix the things they can, I have heard good things about their service department. You're gonna love it no matter what.

Did you happen to check at the dealership in Los Banos when you were looking? His used stuff usually moves pretty fast though, you gotta be ready to pounce.

[moosetags]

As far as the manual goes, What you describe is probably it.

As far as the mattress goes, I will share our experience and thoughts with you. We have a 2005 25FB, named Lucy. Since we bought Lucy new in 2006, we have spent 760 nights in her, and have towed her almost 70,000 miles. Not long after we got Lucy, we added a 2" memory foam topper to Lucy's OEM foam mattress. This combo has been really comfortable all of this time. Recently, SuEllyn's side of the bed has developed a slight dip on the edge as she sits on the open side of the bed regularly. My side of the mattress is not broke as there is not room sit on my side of the bed.

We have been shopping memory foam mattresses on-line. There are several companies that offer an RV queen which is 60"x75" vs. a standard queen which is 60"x80". We have decided that we couldn't spare another 5" of floor space in the bedroom. We haven't made a purchase yet; we are still shopping. If a member her on the Forums has made a recent mattress purchase, I would like to hear about your purchase and impressions.

Brian

[ASwifey]

Here is one shot of the changes we made.

[KerriO]

moosetags, thanks for sharing your mattress experiences. If the mattress that was already in our used model was the OEM that actually fit the bed, I'd probably give it a chance withe a foam topper. But that mattress that they replaced it with is just terrible. The floor plan on the 27FB (which, I agree, ASwifey, is great!) is the type where the bed is open on all three sides. The longer mattress makes for a litte squeezing to get around, but is manageable. I think it's probably worth it, considering we already have a great mattress we can use. And since the bad mattress that was in there is oversized, too, I know what it'll be like (and it's not too bad in terms of length—just not ideal). You may be interested in this thread that I came across a couple of days ago.

ASwifey, excellent interior design work, there! It's lovely. Did you get the sofa and dinette reupholstered as well? New curtains and upholstery are first on our "interior design" list. Both are a bit ragged. (But that'll have to wait a bit, until we can get a better sense of if our fulltiming budget is realistic.)

[blmitch5]

Originally Posted by KerriO

moosetags, thanks for sharing your mattress experiences. If the mattress that was already in our used model was the OEM that actually fit the bed, I'd probably give it a chance withe a foam topper. But that mattress that they replaced it with is just terrible. The floor plan on the 27FB (which, I agree, ASwifey, is great!) is the type where the bed is open on all three sides. The longer mattress makes for a litte squeezing to get around, but is manageable. I think it's probably worth it, considering we already have a great mattress we can use. And since the bad mattress that was in there is oversized, too, I know what it'll be like (and it's not too bad in terms of length—just not ideal). You may be interested in this thread that I came across a couple of days ago.

ASwifey, excellent interior design work, there! It's lovely. Did you get the sofa and dinette reupholstered as well? New curtains and upholstery are first on our "interior design" list. Both are a bit ragged. (But that'll have to wait a bit, until we can get a better sense of if our fulltiming budget is realistic.)

Try AZBambi Décors

They did slip covers for us and they are great! Also less expensive than redoing all of the fabric and when they get dirty they are easy to remove and dry clean!

Here are some before and after pics.

[ASwifey]

Yes we did everything. We even used a little thicker, heavier foam in the cushions. Our kids are nearly 20, and it made sleeping on the pull outs much more comfortable.

We (well really my husband) did the curtains, and had a local shop do the sofa and dinette. Loved it.

AZBambi are the best, we just wanted to try it ourselves.

[dekew]

KerriO,

We've purchased 2 airstreams now, 1 used and 1 new, and they both came with a "satchel" full of manuals for the airstream and nearly every mechanical item inside. We had the Airstream Manual (which is also available for download from Airstream for most models here - Airstream, Inc :: Trailer Manuals) but also manuals for the fridge, AC, inverter, sewage system, etc. There were so many manuals and warranty cards that they had to put them in what appears to be a laptop bag!

So, if you only received a skinny manual from Airstream, you might want to speak to the dealer about providing paper work with the rest of the "stuff" inside. You can find just about everything you need to know on airforums or elsewhere online, but its nice to have them all in one place for reference (and it can't hurt for resale).

[KerriO]

Thanks dekew! It was the opposite I was actually concerned about-- I saw bunch of the individual parts and appliances docs but not the Airstream manual. But the dealer just mailed everything to us, and when I went through it all, the AS manual *was* actually in there. So I think I have everything.

Good to know about the PDFs though.